Creating and Governing Commons within the Neoliberal Palm. The dynamics of citizen initiatives, the politcal discourse of citizen participation and neoliberal governmentality in the Netherlands.

Abstract

This master thesis examined how institutions for collective action (ICAs) in the Netherlands relate to and conflict with both neoliberal governmentality and the political discourse of citizen participation. A literature study was conducted on incorporation of neoliberal governmentality in the political discourse of citizen participation. It concluded that the political discourse of citizen participation contains recognizable aspects of neoliberal governmentality (i.e. austerity on public commons and creation of competition in social domains); however, through the promotion of citizen initiatives it opens a window of opportunity for ICAs to conceive new forms of creating and governing public commons. In addition, the thesis investigated how three eco-friendly housing projects in the Netherlands accomplish their goals through using specific rationales and frames. These rationales and frames prove to align well with the political discourse, as well as with the neoliberal governmentality, despite the fact that they use a different mode of operandi.